Chapter 18
Ariel
After telling my story, I hide my face ashamed of everything I just admitted to him. How weak must I look in his eyes right now? But I had to tell him. After he told me about William, and a little about Gwen, I felt the need to give him a little bit of my story.
“Fuck no.” His outburst makes me flinch and look back up. “You don’t get to be ashamed. The only one who should be ashamed is Greg for thinking it was ever okay to put his hands on you.” My eyes grow misty.
“But-”
“No buts , baby. Just ask me what I see when I look at you.” He says cutting me off.
“What do you see?” My voice trembles.
“I see the most beautiful woman. A woman who is going to be a great role model for her daughter. I see a woman who shines brighter than the sun, and has managed to make my grumpy ass come out of his shell for the first time in years. So, no. You never get to feel ashamed for what that bastard did to you, especially since he never managed to take your light away.”
With that he cups my face in his hand. and brings my lips to his. What starts as a gentle kiss quickly turns passionate as he pushes his tongue into my mouth. Soon our tongues are tangled with each others as they dance together. When he pulls away, we’re both out of breath. “You are so beautiful.” He says against my lips. He then gently kisses me again before taking my hand, and leading me towards the house. Soon we’re in my room.
“No funny business. We’re just going to nap. You emotionally drained yourself, and need to rest. I promise I’ll be right by your side though.” We both get into my bed and he brings me into his arms, so my head rests against his chest.
“Gwen and I met in high school. We were lab partners in tenth grade. She hated me at first because I was a pretty popular guy. She thought I was one of those students that slacked off.” He laughs for the first time since I met him, and it’s a beautiful laugh. “She told me that she’d put her name on the project and wouldn’t hesitate to let the teacher know that I didn’t do anything. Made me hate her a bit. I very much enjoyed proving her wrong. I stayed up late to make sure I knew everything about the project. I worked harder than I ever did on any other assignment. After I proved her wrong, she apologized. Told me that she pegged me wrong. I asked her to marry me. She fell out of her chair laughing. I told her I admired her strength to stand up for herself, and her strength to admit when she was wrong. I convinced her to go on a date with me. The rest was history. We got married at eighteen right out of High School. We stayed here and worked on the ranch. I did online classes and got my business degree. She did the same, but got her teaching degree. Took us each four years, but we did it. I was able to grow the business after that, and she went and taught at the school we met. We were pretty much the golden couple back then. A year after we got our degrees, she was murdered. I went to go get us some groceries for the house, and when I got back there was blood everywhere. Her body was on the ground completely lifeless.” Teddy takes a moment to breathe. “A couple days later Harley was arrested. They said they found the murder weapon in his house after someone left an anonymous tip. I had never felt so betrayed before. My own brother? I couldn’t believe it, but I did. I believed it. They had evidence. The murder weapon was at his place hidden in a vent. He went to prison after being found guilty. A year later we found out he was framed by Gwen’s brother. Veronica had gotten close to him, and she found some of his notebooks where he documented everything. She was on the phone with 911 when he found her with the notebooks, and he attacked her. When the cops got there, she was beaten half to death. She went into a coma for a month. Everything pretty much went to shit after that. Harley was released from prison, his record cleared, but he was distant. Still is. I don’t blame him. We all believed he was capable of murder. How does a family grow from that. We’re healing little by little. Harley talks to us more, but more like old friends than family.” I can’t help the tears that run down my cheeks. This family went through hell. It’s no wonder why Teddy is so grumpy. He’s just got walls built so tall, so he never has to go through that again. Yet he lowered his defenses to let me in just a little.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” I take his hand in mine and bring it to my lips to kiss his knuckles. It’s the only comfort I can give right now.
After that we just lay in silence. Both coming to terms with what the other shared. Soon we both drift off.